Game-counter.



D. L. MURCHEY.

GAME COUNTER.

APPLlCATION FILED FEB. 9. 1914.

Patented July 9, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I D. L MURCHEY GAME COUNTER. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9,m4.

Patented July 9, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-

INVENTOR 22L. Muraf eg WITNESSES:

D. L. MURCHEY.

GAME COUNTER.

APPITICATION FILED FEB. 9, 1914. Patented July 9,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET a.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR @97- E, MM

. 51f, 1 M Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID L. MURCHEY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

GAME-COUNTER.

Application filed February 9, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID L. MUROHEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, in the county of \Vayne and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Game-Counters, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to registers or counters for games, and it hasfor one of its objects the provision of a device which is especiallyadapted for keeping the tally or score of golf games, the devicecomprising means whereby the number of strokes or putts employed inmaking any one hole may be indicated or registered, the indicated scoreremaining undisturbed during the playing of a game and until reset bythe operator.

The invention has, furthermore, for its object the provision of a deviceof this character con'iprising a total register which in dicates thetotal number of putts used by the player in completing his game.

The invention has also for its object the provision of an improveddevice of this character comprising means whereby all the several holeindicators or registers may be returned to Zero by means which pertainindividually to the several registering devices and which are normallyheld, against retraction during their non-operative period.

The invention has, furthermore, for its object the provision of a devicewhich comprises a progressively advancing index ring which is adapted tobe engaged by any one of the series of registering devices pertaining tothe several holes individually, so as to advance the latter step by stepin the same manner as said ring is advanced.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear and beparticularly defined in the claims.

The invention has been clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in which similar characters denote similar parts and in which Figure 1is a face view of a golf registering device or counter embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 illustrates the same device with the the top cover removed.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section substantially on line indicated 33 ofFig. 4..

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the counter on line ell indicated onFig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the member where- Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

Serial No. 817,483.

by the several locking devices for the individual hole registers arebrought into and out of active positions simultaneously.

Fig. 6 is a top view of the base plate, per se.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the slides which carry the puttregistering devices pertaining to each hole individually.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one of the locking members which areemployed in connection with the putt registering wheels, and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a key used for resetting the severalregistering devices to Zero.

Referring to the drawings, 10 denotes a base plate provided with aspaced ring 11 having an internal flange 12 which latter serves toretain for rotatable movement an annulus 13 which constitutes the mainoperative member of the device and is provided at its outer face withratchet teeth 1% adapted to be engaged by a pawl 15 (see Fig. A spring16 serves to hold the pawl 15 in engagement with the ratchet teeth, saidpawl being pivoted at 17 to a finger lever 18 which is fulcrumed on oneof the screws 19 by means of which the ring. 11 and base plate 10. aswell as a cover plate 20, are held together. Loosely mounted upon thescrew 19 is a dog 21. whereby retrograde movement of the annulus 13 willbe prevented. A spring 22 serves to hold the finger lever 18 and dog 21normally in position shown in Fig. 3.

After each stroke or putt which a player makes, the finger lever 18 isforced toward the stationary finger piece 23 which constitutes a part ofthe ring 11, and the annulus 13 is consequently advanced for thedistance of one tooth.

In the present instance the device is so organized that the individualnumber of putts or strokes required by a player to make any one of nineholes will be individually registered on a special index wheelpertaining to that particular hole, this registering mechanismcomprising in each instance a radially movable slide 2%, the main bodyof which rests upon the base plate 10, while at its inner end it isprovided with a downwardly projecting lug 25 adapted to travel in a slot26 provided in the base plate for that purpose, and a spring 27 normallypushes each slide toward the center of the device.

Each slide 26 serves as a carrier for an nulus 13, and on the left sideof Fig. 4.

three teeth are in engagement, while at the right side of Fig. 4 theslide is in its'innermost position and the teeth of the pinion are clearfrom the internal teeth of the annulus. The means for shifting theslides radially, as described, consist preferably of a cam 31 journaledon a stud 32 which is rigidly held in the base plate, and the cam grooveof which (see Fig. 3) is so constructed that only one of said slides canbe in its outward or tooth-engaging position, while all of the otherslides are drawn inwardly and are free from such tooth engagement.

The present device is adapted to register the number of strokes requiredfor nine holes, individually and collectively, and the face plate orcover 20 of the instrument has nine number plates at to correspond withthe number of holes to be played.

The present indication registered by the instrument shows that theplayer has not yet passed his play from the third hole for which he hasalready used seven putts or strokes, and in order to clearly indicatethis fact, I provide a pointer 33 which is rigid on a finger button 34which is adapted to be rotated by hand to turn the cam 31 into theselected position, the finger button being connected with the hub of thecam by a set screw 35, the inner end of which enters a groove 36 formedon the stud 32 so that in this manner they are all held againstseparation.

Means are provided whereby each pinion 29 will be maintained in lockedor nonrotative position whenever its carrier slide is mounted to bringthe pinion out of tooth engagement with the annulus 13, these meansconsisting in each instance of a pawl 37 which is'pivoted at 38 on thebase plate and has a tooth 39 normally in the proper position to enterthe space between a pair of pinion teeth whenthe latter is moving in thedirection to bring its teeth clear of the teeth of the annulus 13. Inother words, the lock pawl 37 is in such position that an engagementwill be effected between it and the pinion teeth before the latter haveentirely cleared the teeth of the annulus so that consequently norotation of the pinion can possibly occur, although a coil spring 40normally tends to rotate the pinion in a retrograde direction so as tobring its indieating disk 10 into the zero position, as is for instanceillustrated in Fig. 2 in which an abutment 41 is provided for each disk,the latter being provided with a lug 42 which will normally rest againstthe abutment just mentioned.

By referring to Fig. 3 it will be noted that if the cam 31'should bemoved for only one-half of the regular one-ninth rotation, from theposition shown, all the'slides will be in their inward positions and thepinions carried thereby will consequently be free from tooth engagementwith the teeth of the or wheels carried thereby, back to their normal orzero positions. For this reason I employ a cam plate 41 having a seriesof cam slots 42, each of which engages an upward projection 43 formed oneach pawl (see Fig. 8), said cam plate 41 being mounted for free andindependent rotation on the' cam hub 31, above described. In order torotate this releasingcam plate 41 I preferably provide in the bodyportion thereof a pair of apertures 42 which are adapted to receive apair of pins 43 (see Fig. 9) of a wrench or key 44, so that in thismanner the cam plate 41 may be properly rotated until a pointer 45.carried by said cam plate (see Fig. 5) is brought into register with anindex mark r on the face of-the dial in which position-of the eam,allthe pawls arewithdrawn from their respective pinions.

In other words: in order to reset the pinions to zero, the slide-cammust first be rotated into an intermediate position, as for instance inregister with the index marker 1", above referred to, to bring theseveral pinion teeth clear of the teeth of the annulus, and the camplate 41 must be rotated to bring its pointer 45 into register with thesame release mark 1 to withdraw the several look. ing pawls.

In order to return the annulus 13 to its original or zero position asexhibited through an aperture 46 in the faceplate of the instrument, Iprovide on the other end of the wrench 44 a pin-projection 47 which maybe passed from the under side of the base plate 10 through a concentricslot 48 into any one of a seriesof apertures 49 provided on the underside of the annulus 13. Inasmuch as the slot 48 extends for an angulardistance ofv about ninety degrees, and inasmuch, furthermore, there arefive apertin-es 19 provided in the annulus one of such apertures willalways be within the reach of the wrench pin e7, through the slot 18.

The present device is adapted to be attached to the coat of the playerby a strap or pin which may be secured to the loop L of the instrument,and the several readings of the perspective index wheels '20 can readilybe seen through apertures 50 provided for that purpose in the coverplate 20.

The operation of the device is as follows The parts of the instrumentbeing in the position shown and giving registration as exhibited in Fig.1, the knob 34 is turned to bring its pointer 33 into register with therelease mark 1'. The cam 41 is then turned by the wrench 1-1 to bringits pointer 15 also into register with said mark, which action willallow the several return springs 10 to perform their functions and resetall of the several index wheels '20 back to zero. The pin 17 of thewrench may then be inserted through the slot %8 into one of theapertures 49 of the annulus and the latter may then be turned until. itsfigure 0 appears in proper position under the aperture &6 in the faceplate. The finger knob 31 is then turned until its pointer 83 registerswith the number plate 1, to indicate that the player is going toward thefirst hole. This position of the pointer and the cam 31 is now such thatthe pinion pertaining to the registen wheel which belongs to hole number1, will be in mesh with the annulus, and after every stroke or puttwhich the player then makes, the finger lever 18 is operated once,therefore advancing the annulus one notch and also turning the registerwheel pertaining to hole number 1 for the distance of one space, thisaction being repeated until the pl: yer has made hole number 1, and hethen turns the knob 3% to bring its pointer 38 into register with numberplate 2 indicating that he is now progressing toward the second hole ofthe course. This change in position will rotate the cam 31, drawing thefirst slide inwardly to bring its pinion into locked position with itsretaining dog 37, when the second slide is pushed outward to bring theteeth of its pinion into engagement with the teeth of the annulus,whereupon each stroke is registered as before. The same position andchange takes place after the player has made the several holes insuccession. As shown, the instrument gives evidence that the player hasused six putts to make the first hole; that he has used five strokes tomake the second hole, and that, up to the point of registration, he hasused seven strokes toward making the third hole. The instrument alsoshows that the total number of strokes thus far employed from thebeginning of the game is eighteen, which mun-- ber of course correspondsto the sum of the individual recordings pertaining to the sev eral holesmentioned.

Changes may be made in the general organization, as well as in theparticular construction of some of the elements of my improved device,without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially in themanner of operating the several slides above referred to, and in themanner of releasing the index wheels or their controlling means fromtheir locking devices above described. Likewise it should be understoodthat it is immaterial what: number of holes the present device isadapted for, and that, if desired, the same mechanism pertaining to thefirst nine holes can be duplicated on the reverse side of the base plateso as to adapt the instrument for registering the game in which eighteenholes constitutes the regulation number.

I claim:-

1. In a device of the character described, a series of individuallyoperable register wheels, a total register, means common to all registerwheels and adapted to set each register wheel successively intooperative relation with the total register, and means for operating thetotal register to advance the set register wheel one indication at atime.

in a device of the character described, a series of individuallyoperable register wheels, a gear for each register wheel, a slide onwhich each gear and register wheel set is mounted, the slides beingmovable radially from a center, a total register provided with internalgear teeth surrouiuling the series of gears of the register wheel sets,a cam having a cam groove formed therein, a pin on each slide engagingin the groove, the groove having a single high point" whereby onrotation of the cam the slides are moved consecutively into and out ofengagement with the internal gear, and means for advancing the totalregister one indication at a time, the movement being indicated both bythe total register and the engaged register wheel.

3. In a device of the character described, a series of individuallyoperable register wheels arranged in a circle, a gear wheel foroperating each register wheel, a total register surrounding saidseriesof register wheels having internal gear teeth formed thereon forengagement by the register wheel gears, means common to all registerwheels for moving any single register wheel gear into engagement withthe total register gear, and means for advancing the total register tomove the set register wheel one indication at a time, the total registerdisplaying the number of times operated.

4. In a device of the character described, a series of individuallyrotatable register wheels, a rotatable total register, a slide on whichthe register wheels are mounted, a

gear for each register wheel, the total register being provided withinternal gear teeth with which the gear of each register Wheel isadapted to engage, means for moving the slides consecutively to bringthe gear wheels of the register sets into engagement with the internalgear of the total register whereby advancement of the total registerrot-ates the set register wheel. r

In a device of the character described, a series of individuallyoperable register wheels, a gear wheel for operating each registerwheel, a slide providing a mounting for each gear and register Wheelset, a total register having internal gear teeth, means common to theslides adapted to move the same in consecutive order to bring the gearthereon into engagement with the internal gear, and means for moving thetotal register in a manner to advance the register wheel of the engagedgear one indication at a time, the total register giving an indicationof the number of times operated.

6. In a device of the character described, a casing, a series ofindependently operable register wheels arranged in a circletherein, eachbearing numbers arranged in conseeutive order from zero, the casinghaving an aperture for each register wheel through which a number may bedisplayed, atotal register surrounding the register wheels, and meanscommon to all the register wheels for moving the same in succession intoand out of operative relation with the total register.

7 7. A game counter for use in playing the game of golf comprising acasing, a series of register wheels rotatably mounted therewithin Whollyindependently one of the other and adapted to register the number ofstrokes employed in making any one hole, a casing having an aperture foreachregister wheel through which a number thereon may be displayed, eachaperture being numbered or characterized to correspond with the numberof the hole with which it is to be used, a total register wheelsurrounding the said series of register wheels being rotatable in thecasing and bearing numbers in consecutive order beginning with Zero, thecasing having an aperture through which a number on the total registermay be displayed, means common to the register wheels whereby they maybe brought successively into operative relation with the total register,and means for actuating the totalregister from the exterior of the caseinamanner to advance the engaged register wheel one indication at atime, the total register displaying the number of times operated andthus giving a total of the numbers displayed by the several registerWheels.

In testimony whereof I aifiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID L. MURCHEY.

Witnesses JOSEPH F. Bonn, CHAsgF. SCHMETZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing; the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G.

